Hit-and-miss record with cover songs and new material for gothic with a penchant for electronic music - A review of BlutEngel's Fountain of Destiny

BlutEngel is a German darkwave, Electronic Body Music and futurepop project by renowned vocalist, songwriter and programmer Chris Pohl who has been and is active in numerous other similar projects such as She Hates Emotions. The group is particularly appreciated in the German gothic scene and regularly playing festivals such as Amphi, M'era Luna and Wave-Gotik-Treffen. My father as well as one of my best friends in Germany regularly listen to the project and I have seen the group live on numerous occasions at festivals. It's quite difficult to keep track of Chris Pohl's activities because he is involved in so many projects and has released so many different records.

If I managed to keep track correctly, Fountain of Destiny should be the project's twelfth full length studio record in almost two and a half decades. The album consists of ten cover songs of famous and more obscure tunes from the eighties as well as two brand-new tracks.

The cover songs are really hit and miss. The quirky, playful and danceable opener ''The Wild Boys'' is certainly very entertaining. The reinterpretation of ''Forever Young'' sounds quite sterile however and can't compete with the original tune. Blutengel also features singer Ulrike Goldmann who shines in the emotional ballad ''Alone'' but sounds somewhat inconsistent in ''Nobody's Diary''.

New song ''Unsere Zeit'' is the only one with entirely German lyrics and meant to spread a positive message in negative times. The song is danceable from start to finish, features interesting lyrics and cleverly combines male and female vocals which makes it one of the greatest tunes on the record. The other new track is quite the opposite however since ''Journey to the Edge of the Night'' is an instrumental darkwave tune that sounds quite exchangeable and fails to leave any mark.

In the end, BlutEngel's twelfth studio record Fountain of Destiny is just as hit and miss as many of its predecessors. The record features some great tunes with strong vocals, catchy melodies and energetic danceable parts. Other tracks feature lackluster vocal performances, ordinary instrumental work and can't compete with the original versions of the cover tracks. My final verdict is that fans of the project or those who appreciate the aforementioned genres can give this release a try. Anyone else can skip this release and should refer to better albums from the past such as Schwarzes Eis and Soultaker for instance.

Final rating: 67%